Laws and Regulations
The Intellectual Property Policy Directorate is responsible for reviewing and modernizing the following federal laws, which are administered by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO):
(Click on the title of the relevant Act to view its full text or the text of the associated Regulations, as maintained on the Justice Canada web site.)
Patent Act
Patents are granted for inventions which must be novel (first in the world), useful (functional and operative) and non-obvious to someone skilled in the art (inventive ingenuity). A patent gives the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling their invention for twenty years from the date of filing the patent application. (More information about patents.)
Copyright Act
Copyright applies to all original literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works, including computer programs, and gives the creator the sole right to produce or reproduce a work or a substantial part of it in any form. Copyright also protects performances and sound recordings. Generally, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus fifty years. The term of protection for performances and sound recordings is fifty years. In accordance with the Copyright Act, the Copyright Board certifies tariffs which set out the royalties payable in respect of certain uses of copyright subject matter. (More information about copyright.)
Trade-marks Act
A trade-mark is a word, symbol, design, or a combination of these, used to distinguish the wares or services of one person or organization from those of others in the marketplace. Trade-mark registration gives one the exclusive right to use the mark across Canada for fifteen years, renewable every fifteen years thereafter. (More information about trade-marks.)
Industrial Design Act
An industrial design is granted for the shape, pattern or ornamentation applied to a useful article that is mass-produced. Registration enables industrial designers to prevent others from making, using, renting or selling their design in Canada for up to ten years. (More information about industrial designs.)
Integrated Circuit Topography Act
Integrated circuit topographies refer to the three-dimensional configurations of the materials that form integrated circuits. TheAct provides for ten years of protection which enables the registered owner to exclude others from reproducing the topography and importing or using it in manufactured products. (Click here for more information about the protection of integrated circuit topographies..)
(Intellectual property protection is afforded to new plant varieties pursuant to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act. This legislation is the responsibility of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.)
